This large, heavy Cambodian knife is ideal for splitting bone when butchering larger animals, or for chopping lighter wood (for the heavy stuff, an axe or saw is always better). The integral design means there is no wooden handle to break or worry about replacing.

This knife measures in at 17.3″ overall, and weights 1 lb 12 oz. It is hand forged from carbon spring steel, and is of integral construction: all one piece. While this isn’t the prettiest chopper around, it is practical, solid, and doesn’t have a wooden handle for you to worry about or replace.

The convex blade and the convex grind mean this blade is both an excellent chopping tool and a tough one to boot. The length of the cutting edge is maximized, and the tip would make this one heck of a chopping weapon. The blade is forged with a distal taper, but widens toward the tip. This improves balance and cutting performance. Similar working blades are also found in Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, which share somewhat similar cultures to Cambodia, but this particular expression of blade culture is all Khmer.

There is a Khmer forge stamp on the blade. The forge scale is retained; this is a rustic-looking blade. Keeping the forge scale on the blade preserves the temper (often lost during polishing) and also holds oil well, preventing corrosion.

The balance point is 3.9″ in front of the socket handle, which allows for more efficient chopping. The spine tapers from 8mm to 3mm at the tip. While the entire edge is sharpened to a utility edge, it’s the end of the blade that is meant to do most of the work. The shape of the blade maximizes the efficiency of the blade’s length. Compared to a heavy parang or butcher’s knife of the same thickness and length, this machete will definitely cut easier and deeper. The blade is 3″ wide at the end.

The handle is surprisingly comfortable. In the Northern Philippines and Taiwan, socket handles are usually wrapped with natural fiber for greater comfort and grip, but the 1.5″ wide socket handle on this machete is perfectly comfortable as is.

The end of the handle is a little rough, and needs finishing to remove the sharp bits of steel wire left on the end.

This is a unique and well-thought-out design from an area that is home to one of the greatest cities of the pre-Columbian world. Only here at Pinoy Steel, and this is the only one I have! $139.